Panipat man held on cheating charge

A young man who allegedly cheated several people on the pretext of getting their money deposited in their bank accounts has been arrested at Nabi Karim in Central Delhi. The accused was involved in at least half-a-dozen such cases.

The incident came to light on Saturday when a team led by area Station House Officer Prem Singh Negi while on a patrol spotted some persons chasing a young man on Desh Bandhu Gupta Road and overpowered the suspect.

“One K. Balamani, who belongs to Hyderabad, disclosed that she along with her husband had gone to a bank on DBG Road to deposit money in their account when the suspect approached them. He suggested to them to get into another queue. He then told them that since they wanted to deposit a big amount, they were required to show their PAN card. Hence, the complainant’s husband went out to get a photocopy of the PAN card,” said a police officer.

The accused then offered to help circumvent the procedure and deposit the money for which the woman agreed to pay him Rs.6,000. Suspecting that something was amiss, she later asked him to return the amount at which he tried to flee and was caught by the police.

During interrogation, the accused identified himself as Deepak, a resident of Panipat in Haryana.

He purportedly confessed to having cheated several persons using the same modus operandi. He was arrested in a similar case at Ambala in Haryana. After being released from jail, he again started cheating people. He would mainly target the elderly and women.

“Cases have been registered against him at the Darya Ganj, Barakhamba Road, Karol Bagh and Kashmere Gate police stations. The accused is a school drop-out and he earlier drove a three-wheeler in Panipat,” said the officer.